Paul Gelsobello

Chilly nights are a little steamier at Kimpton's Hotel Rouge.

Fall Weekend Ideas

Perfect Stay. What better way to celebrate a birthday than with a stiff drink? Kimpton’s Hotel Rouge (rougehotel.com) recently reopened the doors to Bar Rouge with decadent red walls and new savory plates to share (we like the lamb meatballs and tangy asparagus salad). Opt for a cocktail (the Taurus 38 special, with cachaça, lemon juice and prosecco, is a clear winner) or one of the new assortment of wines on tap, and lounge on a cozy velvet banquette before heading upstairs to animal print−adorned rooms.

Perfect Buy. The Georgetown boutique is the only one in D.C. from Babette (babettesf.com), which specializes in classic, feminine pieces and takes on fashion’s former worst enemy: pleats. The heavy use of airy pleats in skirts, tops and scarves make Babette’s clothes the ideal travel companion. Look for bold graphic designs and boxy silhouettes in the store’s fall coats.

Perfect Treat. Cleveland Park’s Ripple (rippledc.com) welcomed new chef Logan Cox this summer, and this fall he brings delicious desserts to the expanded neighborhood restaurant. Think baked-to-order chocolate chip cookies encircling a glass of milk (whole, skim or chocolate) and his twist on s’mores: a milk chocolate cremeux with toasted marshmallow and crisp graham crackers. A word to the wise: The menu changes often.

Perfect Bite. Think your favorite bar has everything? Bet it doesn’t have a regulation-size bocce ball court. Find two of ’em, plus a decked-out oyster bar alongside a 75-seat dining room, inside the new Pearl Dive Oyster Palace (pearldiveDC.com; Black JackDC.com), slated to open in September. Think stews, po’ boys and pastas—no dainty plates, just hearty seafood. No word on whether the BlackJack bar has a bocce champ discount.

Perfect Escape. With its changing foliage and tapering crowds, fall is the best time to visit the newest hangout on the Mall, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial (mlkmemorial.org). The centerpiece of the 4-acre memorial along the Tidal Basin is the Stone of Hope, from which a 30-foot statue of King emerges. The 450-foot wall along the edges of the memorial contains 14 hand-engraved inscriptions of memorable quotes from King.